Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court, Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) unveiled yesterday the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad), at the Emirates Palace. Excellencies from Abu Dhabi and distinguished guests from across the region and the world were also in attendance.

Kizad, a 417 sq km industrial zone strategically located between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, is now ready to receive applications from potential tenants. With one of the world's most advanced deepwater seaports and world-class infrastructure including Union Rail's network, Kizad will benefit from excellent multimodal connectivity via sea, air, road and rail networks to ensure easy accessibility to and from the Industrial Zone. Phase 1, which was launched yesterday, is 51 sq km with an investment of AED 26.5 billion or $7.2 billion.

Earlier in the day, a press conference was held at the Emirates Palace hosted by Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Chairman of ADPC, Tony Douglas, CEO ADPC and Khaled Salmeen, Executive Vice President, Industrial Zones, ADPC to mark the launch of Kizad, the largest industrial zone in the region and to explain the key benefits of the project and its importance to the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030.

Commenting on this occasion, Tony Douglas, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Ports Company, said: "Today is a very special day for ADPC as we announce the launch of this project. It is a remarkable, world scale and world class with great significance for Abu Dhabi, the UAE and the region as a whole. In essence, it is an industrial zone that offers global industry a bright future and will generate skilled jobs long term for the emirate's population"

Kizad is a cornerstone of the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 which also highlights the drive to diversification of the economy in pursuit of sustainable growth less dependent on the oil and gas industries. Its purpose is, in part, to create the range and number of opportunities necessary to recruit, retain and develop local and skilled expatriate talent to build a sustainable knowledge economy whilst reducing reliance on unskilled labour.

Mr. Khaled Salmeen, Executive Vice President, Industrial Zones at ADPC said: "Kizad is the future of Abu Dhabi, not only in terms of potential, but also in terms of diversifying the economy through essential industry. What we look to offer is the ability for businesses to come to Abu Dhabi and thrive through efficient access to markets, lower operating costs and a greater ease of doing business. These three critical success factors for global industry are key ingredients and will all feature over the long term."

By 2030, Kizad will be expected to contribute around 15% of Abu Dhabi's non-oil GDP. It will be a powerful magnet for foreign direct investment, with global business locating large-scale primary and downstream manufacturing facilities in the Industrial Zone. It is anticipated that between 60% and 80% of the goods manufactured within Kizad will be exported, adding further value to the nation's economy.

Kizad's strategy is to attract world-class companies, and to establish international industry best practices throughout the Zone. Global and local companies alike will find in Kizad the business efficiencies, market access, low cost operating environment and support essential for long term competitive advantage. Kizad will set new standards for industrial zone infrastructure, environment and operation, reinforcing Abu Dhabi's global competitive advantage.